


Hypothermia

by Sharcade



Series: Whump Challenge [6]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Cold, Danger, Gen, Hypothermia, Illnesses, Implied/Referenced Child Neglect, NOT MAXVID, Pain, Peril, Sick Character, Sickfic, Unconsciousness, Whump, whump challenge, yuck - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-09 12:50:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16450283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharcade/pseuds/Sharcade
Summary: Max takes a walk in the woods to think.





	Hypothermia

Max hadn't intended for things to go this way.

When it had started snowing, he had been startled. It was the middle of summer, and not only that - Max wasn't exactly used to snow. He had seen it once or twice, but when it came down to the facts, Max had spent most of his life growing up in SoCal, and it just didn't tend to get that cold. Nikki had been overjoyed - Max assumed she had  _not_ spent most of her life growing up in SoCal - and he and Neil had been toted around by the girl all day observing all her favourite parts of the holiday season.

The day had actually been pretty enjoyable once Max had gotten used to it, not to mention the present he had received from David. It had been warm and joyful inside, a family Christmas scene that he wasn't quite used to back at home. Max's family was Indian, their traditions just weren't the same as the ones America had crammed down his throat. But even then, with his Indian traditions, Max's family celebrations could be labelled as little more than  _lackluster._ His family specifically didn't do much of anything for the holidays.

While Christmas at camp had been fun, Max found himself drained pretty quickly. He just couldn't keep up with the relentlessly happy attitudes of the other campers, not without burning out. It had been a full day of Nikki's escapades, and now he needed some alone time.

That thought brought Max to now, where he was wandering aimlessly through the snowy woods in nothing more than his hoodie and jeans. It was fairly cold, though that didn't concern Max - he wouldn't be out here for too long anyway. The camper sighed, his breath visualizing in front of him in the cold air. Max enjoyed walking alone, he really did, but he never enjoyed the quiet. The quiet left him alone with his thoughts, the quiet forced him to think, and right now he was thinking about his home life. Maybe Christmas wasn't as stupid as he had insisted. Maybe a day to appreciate family and love and generosity wasn't so bad after all.

Maybe Max was jealous of what Nikki had with her family.

Max dropped onto the ground under a tree - pine, he noticed bitterly as David's stupid voice echoed in his head - and watched as the snow fell gently around him. The sun would be going down soon, the day would be over and Max could finally get some rest. He still wasn't quite used to the early bedtimes that David had set for them, Max had never had a set bedtime at home. He would go to bed when he got tired, and sometimes he would wake up early enough to go to school. Max just kind of went with the flow.

David knew that Max never went to sleep at the time he was supposed to, Max didn't think it something worthy of hiding. Though he would probably never admit it out loud, he was thankful that David gave him some leniency at times. Max trusted David more than he was willing to admit, and when he woke up at two in the morning in a cold sweat shaking from nightmares, it was David who's door he'd knock on, it was David who's bed he'd crawl into for the night. It was almost infuriating how close Max had found himself to David. He wouldn't admit what role David had filled in his life, he would never admit that.

Not out loud, at least.

Max's eyes fell closed as his thoughts continued to run; he would consider David closer to a father than his  _actual father_ was. David seemed like everything a father  _should_ be: trustworthy, loving, attentive, gentle, everything Max had never known he needed. It was repulsive to think about, Max didn't  _need_ a father figure, Max was  _fine_ ,  _Max was fine._

Max wondered if anybody had noticed he had wandered off.

Max could feel himself relaxing in the snow, his pant legs being dusted with white as they poked out from the treeline, vulnerable under the snowy sky. He could feel the chill creeping in through his clothes, but Max honestly didn't care much. He would head back soon, he would sit by the fireplace that had always been there and he would warm up. He'd be charged by then, he'd be ready to socialize, it would be fine.

And that's when Max fell asleep.

* * *

When Max woke up, the first thing he heard was  _wind._

The wind was blaring in his ears, fast enough that snow was whipping up relentlessly against his exposed face. Scowling, Max tugged his hood down, surprised by how numb and frigid his hands were. Max realized quickly that he was  _freezing,_ his teeth chattering violently as his body shook with chills. How long had he been out here? Max's squinted as his eyes moved upwards, focusing on the dark sky. It was already night - Max hadn't been ready for that, he didn't know his way back in the dark, he just barely knew his way back in the light.  _Had anybody noticed he was gone?_

His skin felt like it was iced over, his breaths coming short as he struggled to inhale through the snow. His legs shaking, Max pulled himself to his feet, clumps of snow tumbling off of him as he staggered forward a few feet before collapsing once again. Max's stomach felt pitted with dread, his legs weren't working, he couldn't walk, he was going to freeze out here.

Max coughed as he pushed himself up from the ground, his arms shaking with the effort of holding up his frail body. His hands were plunged into the snow, burning at the icy cold as Max desperately tried to at least keep his face off the ground. Snow was still pelting down on him, his body shaking so hard that Max wondered if he might be seizing.

"Holy fuck! Kids! I found him, get over here!"

Max's mind registered the voice fairly quickly; Gwen had found him. He had been found. His body seemed to think that was enough of a reason to give in, collapsing once again into the snow as Gwen rushed to his side. He felt hands on his arms, pulling him out of the snow as Gwen hastily ordered campers around. Max coughed dryly, gasping for breath as he began to feel light-headed, his body threatening to fall unconscious once again.

"He's dying!" Nerris cried, her grip on Max's arm tightening enough to stir him awake once again. "I need to restore my mana to cast a healing incantation!"

"He's not dying," Neil cut in, rushing over and cupping Max's face as he looked the boy over. "He's hypothermic, he's going to pass out."

Neil's voice was grating, and Max never thought he would be so overwhelmingly happy to hear it.

"Kids, back up," Gwen demanded, nudging Neil aside and taking Max from Nerris and whoever else was holding him - Max assumed it was Preston by the crippling grip.

"His fingers!" Preston exclaimed hastily, Max watching through a snowy haze as Preston ripped his own gloves from his hands.

Max didn't want to know what his fingers looked like; he hadn't been wearing gloves and he had presumably been out here for hours. That being said, it felt like his hands were on fire as Preston quickly placed his own gloves onto Max's hands. Gwen was holding him like a baby now, a transition he hadn't really noticed. Max shook frigidly against the counsellor's chest, Gwen hastily wrapping her coat around Max and tucking him inside.

Max's thoughts felt foggy, his wet hoodie clinging to his icy skin as he struggled to remain conscious. He had never felt this type of cold; it felt like his entire body was frozen down to the bone. He could feel warmth pouring off of Gwen, that warmth only lulling him further into unconsciousness. He was tired, he wanted to go back to sleep, he was cold and he was  _tired._

"Max?"

Neil's voice pierced his thoughts once again, Max finding himself unable to scrounge up enough energy for a response. He felt like his entire body was melting against Gwen, his blood feeling as though it was barely moving through him at all. He wanted to sleep.

"Max, don't fall asleep, okay?" Neil insisted. "Don't fall asleep."

"I wanna," Max mumbled, his voice far too quiet to be heard over the wind. "M'tired."

"Kids! Pick up the pace!" Gwen snapped, trudging through the snow as Max balled her shirt in his fists.

Black spots clouded Max's vision as his eyes began to fall closed; his entire body trembling in Gwen's arms as the snow pelted down on them. He couldn't do it, he couldn't stay awake, he was tired,  _he had to sleep._

So he did.

Max felt the world go black around him, all sound fizzling out as the numbness of his skin crept into his bones. He was so numb he couldn't even feel the cold, couldn't even feel the snow clinging to his hair, couldn't even feel the frostbite nipping at his fingers. It almost felt good; it felt like nothing, and feeling nothing at all was better than feeling the cold. Even Max's mind felt like it was moving sluggishly, each woozy thought passing through his head like a fog.

They had found him. The fact that they had found him meant they had probably been looking for him, right? That's how Gwen had made it sound. Gwen. Gwen, Nerris, Neil and Preston. That was only a handful of people at the camp, had they split up to look for him? Where was David?

David, David had probably been the first to notice he was gone. Max didn't imagine it was because David cared about him, he imagined it was closer to the fact that David always had an eye on Max to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble. For the most part, Max kept to himself, he only truly acted out and caused mischief when he was bored. He imagined David knew that, the counsellor always doing his best to make sure Max was engaged or entertained with whatever the campers were meant to be doing at the moment. Max insisted it was because David didn't want to be bothered with Max's bullshit scheming and chaos, he wanted to believe that so badly, but he knew when he looked at David that the redhead just genuinely wanted him to have fun.

Max's numb nothingness no longer felt comfortable, thoughts he had neglected for so long occupying the space where his comfortable unconsciousness had been. Thoughts of David - stupid fucking David, stupid David with his bright smile and his camp activities and his desperate need to be liked by every last camper. It infuriated Max how the man had managed to worm his way under Max's skin, burrowing so far down into his heart that he was even annoying the camper while he was  _unconscious._

He hated how much David cared about him.

Max furrowed his brow as voices dug into his ears, the feeling suddenly returning to his body as he realized his surroundings. He wasn't outside anymore; when had they gotten back to the mess hall? Max was propped up by the fire, firmly wrapped up in random assorted blankets as the flame warmed his body. His face felt hot, the fire blaring against his skin as it worked to warm up the rest of him. Neil was resting a few feet away, lying on the floor fast asleep without a blanket of his own. Nikki was strewn across his back, snoring quietly in a way that reminded Max of a wild dog. It didn't surprise him that Neil and Nikki had stayed to make sure he was alright, but the sight of Harrison, Space Kid, Ered, Preston and Nerris each sleeping in their own little spot on the floor had caught him off guard. He wondered how many other campers were hanging around that he just hadn't spotted yet. Were they waiting for him to wake up?

Gwen was resting against the side of the fireplace, sound asleep with her coat draped over her shoulders and her head lulled against her chest. Max shifted slightly as he grew more awake, that was almost everybody accounted for, he just hadn't seen-

"Max? Are you awake?"

David.

Max was startled slightly by the quiet voice coming from above him - he had only just realized that he was sitting in the counsellor's lap, David himself sitting cross-legged in front of the fire with his arms wrapped warmly around Max. It took all of Max's strength not to immediately struggle out of David's grasp; he wasn't used to this kind of affection.

"Sort of," he mumbled tiredly, resting his head against David's chest as he let his eyes fall closed again. "What time is it?"

"It's pretty late."

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"I've been waiting for you to warm up."

Max gave a quiet hum of acknowledgement, enjoying the way his breathing finally steadied in time with David's, his shortness of breath seemingly gone. He was still wearing Preston's gloves, he noted, though he had been changed into his pyjamas at some point. He was almost too nervous to look at his fingers, the way Preston had startled at seeing them made him think that perhaps they weren't as attractive as they had been earlier that morning. He would have to find out later.

"You really scared me there, Max," David murmured, his voice low and gentle so as not to wake the campers. "What were you doing out there alone in the cold?"

"Fell asleep," Max stated simply, shrugging lazily as he watched the fire dance through half-lidded eyes.

"But what were you doing out there in the first place?"

"Thinkin' about stuff."

"You should have told somebody where you were going," David insisted quietly, sighing. "We could have found you sooner."

"I just wanted to be alone for once," Max grumbled, pulling his blanket stash tighter around his body. "Today was fucking exhausting."

"I thought that might be it," David mused, resting his chin on the top of Max's head. "Not used to Christmas?"

"Not like that."

"What do you mean?"

"None of that holly jolly bullshit," Max explained, rolling his eyes. "Peace on Earth and family or whatever the hell. Sometimes we put up lights, that's about it. The rest is a corporate cash grab."

"It's alright Max," David insisted, offering a small smile despite the fact that Max couldn't see it. "Sometimes trying new things can be a little scary."

"I wasn't fucking scared," Max spat, hunching his shoulders as his gaze shifted downwards. "I'm not scared of shit."

Like always, David had hit the nail right on the head. Something in Max's gut had been stirring all day, something telling him not to get attached, not to get comfortable - after all, this would all go away at the end of the summer anyway, right? Why bother?

Maybe that's what he was afraid of.

"Of course not, right, sorry."

"Whatever," Max muttered, sinking slightly deeper into David's lap as his body relaxed. "God, you're such an idiot."

"I'm glad we found you, Max."

Max didn't respond, closing his eyes exhaustedly as the fire crackled gently in his ears.

"I know you don't always want to accept it," David continued softly. "But I really do care about you."

"Yeah, I know, you only tell me every fucking day," Max muttered.

"I'm just glad you're okay," David finished.

Max could tell that David wanted to say more - David always wanted to say more, David was full of things to say, but David also knew that with Max, sometimes it was better to just leave things quietly understood. Max understood the connotations of David's words - David had been  _terrified,_ David had been so afraid that Max  _wouldn't_ be okay. David was beyond relieved to have Max safe and sound in his arms. Max understood that, even though it sparked a feeling of anger in him. David's affections always made him angry,  _David_ always made him angry,  _David wasn't supposed to care about him, adults weren't supposed to care._

Maybe, Max considered for a moment, he was more confused than angry.

"You're a moron," Max mumbled, his voice fading to silence as moments passed between them.

Soon Max's breathing had become steady, quietly signalling that the camper had fallen asleep. David didn't mind that - Max could sleep now, at least David knew he was alright. He sighed, stroking Max's hair gently as the camper relaxed against his body, snoring softly into his blankets. Max was okay, that's the only thing David's mind could register right now.

Max was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I now have an official Tumblr! Feel free to stop by!
> 
> sharcade-involved.tumblr.com


End file.
